The tweet came a day after he confirmed news reports that he was mulling the idea of buying the autonomous Danish territory, though he has acknowledged that such a deal is “not No 1 on the burner”.

Front of mind, perhaps, are warnings from economists that the US economy is teetering toward a recession. But Trump, ever the businessman, apparently cannot resist the prospect of what he has called “essentially a large real estate deal” with miles of coastline.

“Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested but we’ll talk to them a little bit,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

News of the president’s interest in buying the icy island were met internationally with roars of laughter. But on the island and in Denmark, the response ranged from incredulous to indignant.